Udun Osakue dribble through Ho Chi Minh City Wings' defense. The Buffaloes won the City Wings with the score 98-93. — Photo courtesy of VBA

HÀ NỘI — The Hanoi Buffaloes defeated the Ho Chi Minh City Wings for the third time this season, this time by a score of 98-93.

The match was held on Friday (July 22) at Hoàng Mai Area, Hà Nội.

In this third match-up, the Buffaloes were still the better team.

The home team's duo of Udun Osakue and Anthony January continued to be the main scorers for the Buffaloes.

The score was 27-22 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Osakue's mid-range shots and lay-ups continued to be effective. The gap was increased to 51-44 for the home team before the break.

Entering the third quarter, a local player who has been with the Buffaloes since the first season, Đinh Tiến Công, starting scoring to help the Buffaloes create a double-digit lead.

Thanks to that momentum, the Buffaloes players continued to increase defensive pressure to keep the advantage.

Coach Erik Rashad's plan was successful when the Buffaloes repeatedly brought the score to a 20-point difference.

However, the above effort also brought disadvantage to the team when Udun Osakue committed his fourth personal foul and had to sit on the bench for the last minute.

Seizing this opportunity, the City Wings quickly scored to close the gap to only 78-63 before the last quarter.

The City Wings continued to take advantage to score more points. Phạm Hiền Tài's three-pointers and Yevgen Sakhniuk's low-post shots helped the Wings narrow the gap to just six points (82-76).

Coach Rashad had to call timeout and let Udun Osakue back into the game.

The player immediately provided two assists to help Tâm Đinh score five points to reestablish a 11-point gap.

Not giving up, Trần Văn Trung of the Wings drew fouls in final minutes. 

He completed four out of five at the free throw line and had one three-pointer to bring back hope for the guest. 

The score was 93-92 with only 45 seconds left.

That's when Phạm Đức Kiên of the Buffaloes had a clutch shot to score two points for the home team.

Anthony January and Đinh Tiến Công sealed the victory for the Buffaloes at the free throw line. 

The match ended with the score 98-93 for the home team. Udun Osakue won Player of the Game with 20 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. — VNS